Carlos Alcaraz recently opened up about his efforts to change the tournament schedule for the ATP Tour, as several top tennis stars have complained about the lengthy season. The Spaniard shared that he was trying to ensure that players got more time to rest and recover.
The ATP season currently begins in late December or early January with hard court tournaments, including the United Cup and the Brisbane International. Action then moves across the four surfaces, before coming to a close sometime in November with the Tour Finals. The WTA follows a similar schedule.
Recently, several big names in tennis, including Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff have spoken out about the negative effects of the lengthy tennis season. Now, Carlos Alcaraz has opened up about his fight to change this hectic schedule, telling Financial Times,
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“We’re trying to change the schedule a bit, seeing if they can remove more tournaments so we can have more rest time, more vacation time. It’s not easy, but we’re trying.”
With several top players opening about the taxing effects of the 11-month long tennis season, it remains to be seen if the ATP and WTA take up Alcaraz's recommendations.
Carlos Alcaraz reflects on the importance of taking time away from tennis
Over the years, Carlos Alcaraz has been open about taking time away from tennis in order to rest and recover. The Spaniard is particularly well known for vacationing in Ibiza after his back-to-back triumphs at the French Open.
Reflecting on the importance of a break, Alcaraz told Financial Times,
“I really enjoy playing tennis. It’s my passion, it’s what I chose, it’s what I love. But in the end, it’s like everything else. If you play every day and you don’t have a break for yourself, to disconnect, that excitement kind of fades. So I always try to find moments of fun – of wanting to live.”
He went on to share that golf was one of his hobbies away from the tennis courts, saying,
“I love playing golf and I played a few courses here in the UK. Rafa plays really well. Alex de Minaur plays too. I played Andy Murray the other day and he beat me. He’s spent a lot of time on the course practising and you can tell. I also played Casper Ruud [three-time major finalist] and he beat me too.”
Carlos Alcaraz was last seen in action at the Wimbledon Championships. While in England, the 22-year-old made it to the finals but went down against rival Jannik Sinner over the course of four games.
